Published By: Arcadia
Pages: 336
Released On: 18/07/2024
Fifteen years ago, two boys went missing at a state park in West Virginia. Six months later they mysteriously reappeared. Jeremy wouldn’t say where they had been, and Rafe was unable, having no memory of their time lost in the woods . . though he bears terrible scars on his back that no one can explain.
Now adults, Jeremy is a missing persons investigator with an uncanny ability to find lost and kidnapped girls. Meanwhile, Rafe has become a recluse, an artist unable to stop creating fantastical paintings and sculptures he shows to no one.
When Emilie goes to Jeremy, seeking help for her older sister who was kidnapped eighteen years earlier, he recognizes her as the girl he’s been questing for all these years. Emilie is the lost princess of Shanandoah, and her sister is the queen of the fantasy world where he and Rafe spent those six magical months when they were missing.
But an old foe of Rafe’s is determined to keep the three from saving Shanandoah. The only chance they have to find what was lost lies in Rafe’s ability to remember who he was. But there’s a very, very good reason he can’t.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Arcadia for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
**Contains Slight Spoilers** – I try not to include spoilers in my review but I found it difficult to give the book a proper review without doing do.
I had a digital copy and so it wasn’t 100% clear, but I can say with certainty that there IS A MAP! I love a book with a map, especially a fantasy book with a map. And so immediately it felt very Narnia, this secret fantasy world. In fact, people online have compared it to C.S Lewis’ Narnia series, which is a very bold statement and I was a bit wary.
I do love fantasy books with fantasy worlds and whatnot, don’t get me wrong. But where I think Narnia excelled, and by extension, where this book excels, is that there is this fantasy world, there’s magic in it, but it’s set in a normal world. And it’s this magic amongst normality that, for me, makes it even more magical. If you’re in Narnia and you see a blue penguin doing a handstand then that’s fine. But in rural Yorkshire? Might stop traffic.
The characters are great. The heroes are brilliant, the villains brilliant. It’s everything you want from a fairy tale. We have Jeremy and Raph, two ordinary men who once got lost as children but seem to have fallen out. And we have Emilie, a grieving, lonely woman who is desperate to find answers of her family. There isn’t a bum note among the characters. The heroes are heroic, the villains villainous. It is perfectly pitched. It’s not an exaggeration to say I think this could match up with the fairy tales we love so much; I could definitely find a place for it next to my set of Narnia books, it’s that good.
It is in the third person, predominately following Emilie’s story, but we also do hear from Jeremy and Rafe. We also have “the storyteller”, in first person, which adds a bit of a whimsical nature to it, as it’s not clear who that is. Bar those sections, it’s all in the third person which I think worked with this. I prefer third person if I’m honest. First person works in some stories where you need immediacy, like a thriller or whodunnit. But this is as much about the magic as it is the reality, so I felt it needed to step back from one individual voice.
I mean, it’s not a spoiler to say there’s a magical world in it – Shanandoah – and what a magical world! It still feels very real but there’s some things that make it different: the trees are too tall, the rivers too clean, the birds unnaturally sized. It’s beautifully created and beautifully told, and I want to find the entrance to this magical place too. The way Meg’s described this new land, it’s breath-taking. I think it’s harder than it sounds to create a new place. You might think it’s easy as there’s no rules, but there are rules, just fantasy rules. And it’s hard to make it completely original, but with the elements we expect from a fantasy land. But the clear icy waters, the magical trees, the song of the breeze, it’s so beautiful and so easy to imagine.
I can see it being perfect for a TV series or film. But I don’t think anyone could create a world on screen that did it justice. I think the magic comes from the reader, as each reader will imagine something different and it’ll mean something different to everyone.
This is a delightful book. It’s not all rainbows and sunshine and happiness, but overall it is really lovely. It’s about love, friendship, family, magic, hope, fear, trust, forgiveness, joy, and beauty. It’s about the power of creativity, of storytelling, of music, of art; how they can change your life and save your life.
We need more fairy tales as adults. Who made the rules that say fairy tales are only for children, and adults should only read serious literature? I love a good fairy tale and frankly, the world would be a better place if more adults were to lose themselves in them.
I say this with absolute love, but I was so annoyed that it ended on a cliff-hanger! I mean, the main crux of the story is wrapped up, but there’s a teaser at the end, it suggests there’s more, and I desperately need it! There needs to be a sequel, or a threequel, or an entire seven-book series. I can’t live with this suspense. I am bereft that I have finished it. This book is a fairy tale in itself.
I don’t do star ratings generally unless I have to (i.e. for NetGalley and Goodreads), but for this book, I would pluck every star out of the sky and give them to it.
It’s my first book by Meg Shaffer. I have had The Wishing Game on my wishlist for ages but haven’t got round to buying it, but you can bet I will be now! It is definitely a contender for my favourite book of the year.
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